U.S. patent number 9,256,726 [Application Number 14/309,515] was granted by the patent office on 2016-02-09 for call center customer service kiosk.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Avaya Inc.. The grantee listed for this patent is Avaya Inc.. Invention is credited to Anjur Sundaresan Krishnakumar, Joann Ordille, Shalini Yajnik.
United States Patent |
9,256,726 |
Ordille , et al. |
February 9, 2016 |
Call center customer service kiosk
Abstract
A customer uses an in store kiosk to establish a communication
session, such as a video communication session between the kiosk
and an agent in a contact center. The customer can transfer the
communication session to the customer's personal mobile
communication device by selecting to transfer the communication
session at the kiosk. A presence of the customer's personal mobile
communication device is detected. The presence of the customer's
personal mobile communication device can be detected by the use of
various technologies, such as Near Field Communications or scanning
a code on the kiosk from the mobile communication device. In
response to detecting the presence of the mobile communication
device the communication session is transferred from the kiosk to
the mobile communication device using a communication application
in the mobile communication device.
Inventors: |
Ordille; Joann (Lebanon,
NJ), Krishnakumar; Anjur Sundaresan (Princeton, NJ),
Yajnik; Shalini (Berkeley Heights, NJ) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Avaya Inc. |
Santa Clara |
CA |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
Avaya Inc. (Basking Ridge,
NJ)
|
Family
ID: |
53798356 |
Appl.
No.: |
14/309,515 |
Filed: |
June 19, 2014 |
Prior Publication Data
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Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
|
US 20150237207 A1 |
Aug 20, 2015 |
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Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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61941924 |
Feb 19, 2014 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04M
3/54 (20130101); H04M 1/72406 (20210101); H04M
3/58 (20130101); H04M 3/5183 (20130101); H04W
4/80 (20180201); H04L 63/0846 (20130101); H04M
3/4234 (20130101); G06F 21/45 (20130101); H04W
4/16 (20130101); H04L 63/08 (20130101); G06F
21/44 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
H04M
3/42 (20060101); G06Q 30/00 (20120101); H04M
3/51 (20060101); H04M 3/54 (20060101); H04M
3/58 (20060101); H04W 4/00 (20090101); H04W
4/16 (20090101); G06F 21/45 (20130101); H04M
1/725 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;379/204.01,201.1,201.01,201.06,212.01 ;705/2,14.37,14.36
;726/3 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Addy; Thjuan K
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Sheridan Ross P.C.
Parent Case Text
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. .sctn.119(e) of
U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/941,924, filed Feb. 19, 2014,
entitled "CUSTOMER SERVICE KIOSK FOR BYOD" the entire disclosure of
which is incorporated herein by reference.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A method comprising: receiving, by a processor, an indication
that a user of a kiosk wants to transfer a communication session,
between an agent terminal of a contact center and the kiosk, from
the kiosk to a mobile communication device; receiving, by the
processor, an indication that a customer has scanned a code on the
kiosk that is one of: a Quick Response Code (QRCode), a bar code, a
Radio Frequency Identifier (RFID), a scanned code, or a serial
number; in response to receiving the indication that the customer
has scanned the code on the kiosk, transferring, by the processor,
the communication session from the kiosk to the mobile
communication device; determining, by the processor, that the code
is associated with a specific type of product or service provided
by a store; and in response to determining that the code is
associated with the specific type of product or service provided by
the store, providing a map that identifies a location in the store
where the customer can find the specific type of product or
service.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining if the
mobile communication device needs to download a communication
application; and in response to determining that the mobile
communication device needs to download the communication
application, downloading the communication application on the
mobile communication device.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the contact center receives a
telephone number of the mobile communication device for
transferring the communication session from the kiosk to the mobile
communication device.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the code is received using one
of: Near Field Communication (NFC), Bluetooth, or proximity based
radio communications.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the communication session is
between the customer and an agent of the contact center, and when
the communication session is transferred from the kiosk to the
mobile communication device, a single communication record of the
communication session is maintained in the contact center.
6. The method of claim 1, further comprising: identifying that a
user of the mobile communication device is a previous customer of
the contact center; and encrypting the transferred communication
session using one or more encryption keys from a previous contact
with the customer of the contact center.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the communication session between
the contact center and the kiosk comprises downloading a document
to the kiosk and further comprising: downloading the document for
display on the mobile communication device in response to
transferring the communication session from the kiosk to the mobile
communication device.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the communication session between
the contact center and the kiosk is the video communication session
with an agent of the contact center, wherein the code is provided
based on an input from the agent of the contact center, and wherein
the code is displayed as part of a video stream from the contact
center that is displayed on the kiosk.
9. The method of claim 1, further comprising: in response to the
code being associated with the specific type of product or service
provided by the store, conferencing in an employee located in the
store.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein a user of the mobile
communication device can select a list of options associated with
transferring the communication session from the kiosk to the mobile
communication device comprising: providing the map; conferencing an
employee located in the store; and transferring a video
communication session on the kiosk to an audio only communication
session on the mobile communication device.
11. A system comprising: a processor; a communication manager,
executed by the processor, that receives an indication that a
customer has scanned a code on a kiosk that is one of: a Quick
Response Code (QRCode), a bar code, a Radio Frequency Identifier
(RFID), a scanned code, or a serial number, transfers a
communication session, between an agent terminal of a contact
center and the kiosk, from the kiosk to a mobile communication
device in response to receiving the indication that the customer
has scanned the code on the kiosk, determines that the code is
associated with a specific type of product or service provided by a
store and provides a map that identifies a location in the store
where the customer can find the specific type of product or service
in response to determining that the code is associated with the
specific type of product or service provided by the store.
12. The system of claim 11, further comprising a kiosk module,
executed by the processor, that determines if the mobile
communication device needs to download a communication application
and downloads the communication application on the mobile
communication device in response to determining that the mobile
communication device needs to download the communication
application.
13. The system of claim 11, wherein the communication session
between the contact center and the kiosk comprises downloading a
document to the kiosk and wherein the communication manager
downloads the document for display on the mobile communication
device in response to transferring the communication session from
the kiosk to the mobile communication device.
14. The system of claim 11, wherein the communication session
between the contact center and the kiosk is the video communication
session with an agent of the contact center, wherein the code is
provided based on an input from the agent of the contact center,
and wherein the code is displayed as part of a video stream from
the contact center that is displayed on the kiosk.
15. The system of claim 11, in response to the code being
associated with the specific type of product or service provided by
the store, conferencing in an employee located in the store.
16. A tangible and non-transient computer readable medium having
stored thereon instructions that cause a processor to execute a
method, the method comprising: instructions to receive an
indication from a kiosk that a user of the kiosk wants to transfer
a communication session, between an agent terminal of a contact
center and the kiosk, from the kiosk to a mobile communication
device; instructions to receive an indication that a customer has
scanned a code on the kiosk that is one of: a Quick Response Code
(QRCode), a bar code, a Radio Frequency Identifier (RFID), a
scanned code, or a serial number; in response to receiving the
indication that the customer has scanned the code on the kiosk,
instructions to transfer the communication session from the kiosk
to the mobile communication device; instructions to determine that
the code is associated with a specific type of product or service
provided by a store; and in response to determining that the code
is associated with the specific type of product or service provided
by the store, instructions to provide a map that identifies a
location in the store where the customer can find the specific type
of product or service.
17. The system of claim 11, wherein the contact center receives a
telephone number of the mobile communication device for
transferring the communication session from the kiosk to the mobile
communication device.
18. The system of claim 11, wherein the code is received using one
of: Near Field Communication (NFC), Bluetooth, or proximity based
radio communications.
19. The system of claim 11, wherein the communication session is
between the customer and an agent of the contact center and when
the communication session is transferred from the kiosk to the
mobile communication device, a single communication record of the
communication session is maintained in the session manager.
20. The system of claim 11, wherein the session manager identifies
that a user of the mobile communication device is a previous
customer of the contact center and encrypts the transferred
communication session using one or more encryption keys from a
previous contact with the customer of the contact center.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
The systems and methods disclosed herein relate to contact centers
and in particular to customer service contact centers.
BACKGROUND
Kiosks allow companies to provide personal in-store service to
customers through contact with remote agents in a contact center.
These types of kiosks can improve customer service, reduce the
demand on local staff, and can provide expertise that is not
present locally. However, a problem with kiosks is that a customer
is tied to the location of the kiosk. This can result in situations
where high quality of service cannot always be obtained.
For example, being tethered to the kiosk prevents a customer from
conversing with a contact center agent while going to another
location in a store that may have a specific product or service in
which the customer is interested. Another problem is that long
lines can form at the kiosk. These long lines can result in poor
customer satisfaction if a user has to wait for a long period of
time to use the kiosk. Another problem is that the kiosk may not
afford the privacy necessary to comfortably complete the
interaction with the contact center agent. These and other
deficiencies still limit the usefulness of a kiosk.
SUMMARY
Systems and methods are provided to solve these and other problems
and disadvantages of the prior art. A customer uses a kiosk, such
as an in-store kiosk, to establish a communication session, such as
a video communication session between the kiosk and an agent in a
contact center. The contact center can be co-located with or remote
from the store in which the kiosk is situated. The customer can
transfer the communication session to the customer's personal
mobile communication device by selecting to transfer the
communication session at the kiosk (e.g., by selecting a transfer
option presented to the customer via a Graphical User interface
(GUI) of the kiosk). A presence of the customer's personal mobile
communication device is detected at or in proximity with the kiosk.
The presence of the customer's personal mobile communication device
can be detected by the use of various technologies, such as Near
Field Communications (NFC), Bluetooth.RTM., or scanning a code on
the kiosk with a camera or similar image-based input of the mobile
communication device. In response to detecting the presence of the
mobile communication device by scanning a Quick Response (QR) code,
session information and the URL of a server are used to download
code on the mobile device to transfer the communication session.
The communication session is then transferred from the kiosk to the
mobile communication device using the communication application.
This allows the customer to continue the communication session
while walking through the store.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a first illustrative system for
providing contact center kiosk services.
FIG. 2 is diagram of an exemplary kiosk display.
FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of a process for providing contact center
kiosk services.
FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of a process for additional contact center
kiosk services.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a first illustrative system 100 for
providing contact center kiosk services. The first illustrative
system 100 comprises a mobile communication device 101, a kiosk
102, an employee mobile communication device 107, a network 110, a
contact center 120, agent terminals 130A-130N and agents
131A-131N.
The mobile communication device 101 can be or may include any
mobile device that can communicate on the network 110, such as a
Personal Computer (PC), a mobile telephone, a mobile video device,
a cellular telephone, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a tablet
device, a notebook device, a smart phone, a smart watch, and the
like. The mobile communication device 101 can communicate with the
network using a variety of protocols. The mobile communication
device 101 may be a customer's personal mobile communication device
101, a mobile communication device 101 of another person, a mobile
communication device 101 that is owned by a company (e.g., a
company that owns a store where the kiosk 102 is located), and the
like.
The employee mobile communication device 107 can be or may include
any mobile communication device that can communicate on the network
110. For example, the employee mobile communication device 107 may
be the same or similar to the mobile communication device 101.
The kiosk 102 can be or may include any device that can provide
interactive communication, such as an interactive computer
terminal, a personal computer, an automated teller, a computing
system, and/or the like. The kiosk 102 can provide a variety of
services, such as in-store services, customer services, direction
services, automated teller services, product services, and/or the
like. The kiosk 102 further comprises a display 103, a kiosk module
104, a communication application 105, and a presence detection
module 106.
The display 103 can be or may include any type of display, such as
a touch screen, a Light Emitting Diode (LED) display, a plasma
display, a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT), and/or the like. The display 103
can be used to provide outputs (e.g., visual outputs) in addition
to providing a location for user input (e.g., via a touch-sensitive
display). The display 103 can alternatively or additionally be used
in conjunction with a separate input device, such as a mouse or
keyboard.
The kiosk module 104 can be or may include any hardware/software
that manages operations of the kiosk 102. Depending on
implementation, the kiosk module 104 may be only in the kiosk 102,
may be distributed between the kiosk 102 and the contact center
120, or may be solely in the contact center 120.
The communication application 105 can be any software (e.g.,
instructions stored in a non-transitory computer-readable memory)
that can be downloaded onto the mobile communication device 101 to
allow for transferring a communication session from the kiosk to
the mobile communication device 101. In FIG. 1, the communication
application 105 is shown as being stored in the kiosk 102. However,
in other embodiments, the communication application 105 may be
stored in and downloaded from the contact center 120 or from some
other remote server connected to the network 110.
The presence detection module 106 can be or may include any
hardware/software that can determine that the mobile device 101 is
within a predefined proximity of the kiosk. For example, the
presence detection module 106 can be a Radio Frequency
Identification (RFID) detector, a Near Field Communication (NFC)
detector, a Bluetooth.RTM. detector, a software module to handling
Quick Response (QR) codes that are scanned by the mobile
communication device 101, a software module for managing other
types of scanned codes, identifiers, Radio Frequency Identification
(RFID) tags, or serial numbers, and/or the like. The presence
detection module 106, in one embodiment is in the contact center
102 or distributed between the contact center 120 and the kiosk
102. For example, the presence detection module 106 may be on a
back-end server that supports a URL that is indicated in a QR code.
In FIG. 1, the presence detection module 106 is shown as part of
the contact center 106. However, the presence detection module 106
may be on a back-end server that is separate from the contact
center 120.
The network 110 can be or may include any collection of
communication equipment that can send and receive electronic
information, such as the Internet, a Wide Area Network (WAN), a
Local Area Network (LAN), a Voice over IP Network (VoIP), the
Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), a packet switched
network, a circuit switched network, a cellular network, a WiFi
network, an 802.11 network, a combination of these, and the like.
The network 110 can use a variety of protocols, such as Ethernet,
Internet Protocol (IP), Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), H.323,
Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN), 802.11, and the
like.
The contact center 120 can be or may include any hardware/software
that can manage communications. The contact center 120 can support
a variety of communication sessions between agents 131A-N and
customers/users, such as an audio communication session, a video
communication session, a multimedia communication session, a text
communication session, an Instant Messaging communication session,
an email communication session, and/or the like. The contact center
120 further comprises a communication manager 121 and the kiosk
module 104.
The communication manager 121 can be or may include any
hardware/software that can manage communication sessions, such as a
session manager, a Private Branch Exchange (PBX), a central office
switch, a router, a video switch, an Instant Messaging Server, an
email server, a combination of these, and the like. The
communication manager 121, in some embodiments, may be distributed
between the contact center 120 and the kiosk 102. The communication
manager 121 may also be distributed between public and private
networks. In addition, all non-kiosk software can exist in the
cloud.
The agent terminals 130A-130N can be any type of communication
device that may be used by the contact center agents 131A-131N,
such as a personal computer, a notebook device, a terminal, a
laptop computer, a tablet device, a smart phone, a Personal Digital
Assistant (PDA), and/or the like. In this example, the contact
center 120 may have any number of agent terminals 130. Likewise,
the contact center 120 may have any number of agents 131A-131N. The
contact center agents 131A-131N can use the agent terminals
130A-130N as part of a communication session between the kiosk 102,
the mobile communication device 101, and the contact center
120.
A communication session is established, by way of example, between
the kiosk 102 and the agent 131A (via agent terminal 130A) by the
communication manger 121. The communication session can be any type
of communication session, such as an audio communication session, a
video communication session, a multimedia communication session, an
Instant Messaging communication session, a text communication
session, and/or the like. For example, a customer/user at the kiosk
102 may select a "talk to agent button" (e.g., as shown in FIG. 2,
element 203) on the kiosk 102 to establish a video communication
session with the contact center agent 131A. The customer/user can
be any one who uses the kiosk 102 to contact the contact center
120.
The communication manager 121, in some embodiments, determines that
the communication session exists between the contact center 120 and
the kiosk 102 based on a kiosk identifier. The kiosk identifier can
be any identifier that uniquely identifies (e.g., globally or
within the environment of the contact center 120) the kiosk 102,
such as a telephone number, a globally unique identifier, an IP
address, a network address, an Ethernet address, a Media Access
Control (MAC) address, and/or the like. The kiosk identifier may be
identified or created by the communication manager 121 as part of
establishing the communication session between the kiosk 102 and
agent 131A. Alternatively, the kiosk identifier may be determined
when the kiosk identifier is sent as part of a transfer request or
looked up in a database based on a caller identifier.
A customer/user at the kiosk 102 indicates that the customer/user
wants to transfer the communication session from the kiosk 102 to a
mobile communication device 101. Of course, other situations may
involve an on-site customer service representative indicating that
the communication session is to be transferred from the kiosk 102
to a mobile device 101 of the customer and/or a mobile device 107
of the on-site local employee 107. For example, the customer/user
can select a "transfer to your device" button (e.g., as shown in
FIG. 2, element 205) to transfer the communication session with the
contact center agent 131A from the kiosk 102 the customer's
personal mobile communication device 101.
The kiosk module 104, in response to receiving the request to
transfer, detects the presence of the mobile communication device
101 at or in proximity with the kiosk 102. The kiosk module 104 can
detect the presence of the mobile communication device 101 in
various ways. The kiosk module 104 can detect the presence of the
mobile communication device 101 using Near Field Communication
(NFC), Bluetooth.RTM., Radio proximity based communications using
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags, and/or the like. For
example, the customer, upon selecting to transfer the communication
session from the kiosk 102 to the mobile communication device 101,
may be displayed a message to place their NFC enabled mobile
communication device 101 next to a NFC detector (presence detection
module 106) to detect the presence of the mobile communication
device 101 in proximity to the kiosk 102.
The use of Bluetooth.RTM. and NFC are capable of two way detection.
The presence detection module 106 at the kiosk 102 detects the
presence of the mobile communication device 101. The mobile
communication device 101 is also aware of the presence of the Kiosk
102. In the case of technologies such as RFID, the mobile
communication device 101 will have to have the communication
application 105 that communicates with the presence detection
module 106 in the kiosk 102.
In another embodiment, the presence detection module 106 can detect
the presence of the mobile communication device 101 when the
customer scans a code displayed in the display 103 of the kiosk
102. In this embodiment, the presence detection module 106 would be
on a back-end server that is pointed to by a URL in the QR code
(e.g., the presence detection module 106 in the contact center).
The code can be Quick Response code (QR code), a bar code, a serial
number, a RFID tag, a combination of these, and the like. For
example, when the customer selects to transfer the communication
session from the kiosk 102 to the mobile communication device 101,
a QR code is displayed to the customer on the kiosk 102. The
customer then scans the QR code via a scanner/camera in the mobile
communication device 101.
Scanning the QR code associated with the kiosk 102 allows the
presence detection module 106 in the contact center 120 to
communicate with the with the mobile communication device 101.
Scanning the QR code registers the mobile communication device 101
with presence detection module 106. This can be accomplished in
various ways, such as based on a Universal Resource Locator (URL)
designated by the QR code. When the QR code is scanned, the mobile
device's browser goes to the URL indicated by the QR code. The URL
starts a communication with the presence module 106 in the contact
center 120. Code from the URL is executed in the mobile
communication device's browser. If the communication application
105 is not present, the mobile communication application 105 is
downloaded and installed on the mobile communication device 101.
The communication application 105 interacts with the kiosk module
104 in the contact center 120 to get the session information in
order to transfer the communication session.
In response to detecting the presence of the mobile communication
device 101, the kiosk module 104 (or some other device) determines
if the communication application 105 needs to be downloaded onto
the mobile communication device 101 (if not downloaded previously).
Downloading the download communication application 105 can be
accomplished in various ways, such as via a local WiFi network, via
a Bluetooth connection, via NFC, via the Internet, via a cellular
network, via the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), and/or
the like. Once the communication application 105 has been
downloaded to the mobile communication device 101, the
communication session is transferred from the kiosk 102 to the
mobile communication device 101. Since the mobile communication
device 101 has been registered with the kiosk module 104, the
communication manager 121 can now transfer the communication
session from the kiosk 102 to the mobile communication device 101
using the communication application 105 on the mobile communication
device 101. For example, the call can be transferred via a local
WiFi in a store to the mobile communication device 101. The
transfer can be implemented in various ways, such as using Session
Initiation Protocol (SIP) to download the application to the
communication device. In this embodiment, since the communication
is a local communication on a local WiFi network (not a cellular
call), the telephone number of the mobile communication device does
not have to be known. Similarly, using the cellular data network,
instead of the WiFi does not require the telephone number to be
known.
In another embodiment, the communication application 105 can send a
telephone number of the mobile communication device 101 to the
kiosk module 104. For example, the communication application 105
may query the customer for the telephone number of the mobile
communication device 101, may automatically get the telephone
number of the mobile communication device 101 (e.g., by the
communication application 105 getting the mobile communication
device 101 telephone number), may get the telephone number of the
mobile communication device 101 based on the customer's approval,
and the like. Once the telephone number of the mobile communication
device 101 has been received by the kiosk module 104, the
communication manager 121 can transfer the communication session to
the communication device via a cellular network (e.g., a cellular
network via the PSTN).
Since the mobile communication device 101 has been registered with
the kiosk module 104, when the communication session is transferred
to the mobile communication device 101, a single communication
record is maintained in the contact center 120 for the entire
communication session (including the transfer). This is a
substantial improvement over existing systems that create two
session records (one session record for the communication session
between the contact center 120 and the kiosk 102 and a second
session record for the call between the call center 120 and the
communication device 102).
In one embodiment, once the communication session between the
contact center 120 and the mobile communication device 101 has
ended, the communication application 105 that was downloaded to the
mobile communication device 101 is deleted. Before deletion, the
customer may be asked if he/she would like to share contact
information with the contact center 120.
In one embodiment, instead of transferring the communication
session to a mobile communication device 101 of the customer, the
communication session is transferred to the mobile device 107 of a
local employee. This way the local employee can assist the customer
by walking around the store with the customer while conversing with
the agent 131A in the contact center 120.
FIG. 2 is diagram of an illustrative kiosk display 103. The
illustrative kiosk display 103 describes various options that may
be displayed to a customer. The kiosk display 103 comprises a
communication session window 201, a topic menu 202, a talk to agent
button 203, an end call button 204, a transfer to your device
button 205, codes 220A-220C, a conference local employee check box
230, a provide map check box 231, a transfer to audio only check
box 232, and an instruction window 240. The codes 220A-220C can be
a QR code, a bar code, an identification number, a serial number,
an RFID tag, and the like. The kiosk display 103 will typically be
a touch screen that allows the customer to select the topic menu
202, the buttons 203-204, and the check boxes 230-232.
The customer, at the kiosk 102, initiates a video communication
session with the contact center 120 by selecting the talk to agent
button 203. The customer is connected with the contact center agent
131A as depicted in the communication session window 201. During
the video communication session with the contact center agent 131A,
the customer decides to transfer the video communication session
with the contact center agent 131A.
In one embodiment, the contact center agent 131A determines that it
may make sense to transfer the call to the customer's mobile
communication device 101. For example, the agent may decide that it
would be best to have the customer walk to a specific area in a
store to further discuss a specific product. Based on this input
from the agent, the code 220C is displayed in the communication
session window 201 (sent as part of the video stream). In this
example, the code 220A is QR code. The customer can then scan the
code 220C to download the communication application 105 and
transfer the video communication session from the kiosk 102 to the
mobile communication device 101. The customer then continues the
video communication session with the agent 131A on the mobile
communication device 101. Alternatively, the QR code could be sent
separate from the video stream.
In another embodiment, the customer selects the transfer to your
device button 205. In response to the selection of the transfer to
your device button 205, the kiosk module 104 displays in step 210A
the code 220A. The customer then scans the code 220A to download
the communication application 105 (if necessary) and transfer the
video communication session from the kiosk 102 to the mobile
communication device 101.
In another embodiment, based on the selection of a specific topic
from the topic menu 202, when the customer selects the transfer to
your device button 205, both the codes 220A and 220B are displayed
in steps 210A and 210B. If the customer wants to conference in a
local expert on the selected topic, the customer can scan the code
220B associated with the selected topic to download the
communication application 105 (if necessary); the video
communication session is then transferred from the kiosk to the
mobile communication device 101 with the local expert conferenced
into video communication session. The local expert may be
conference in using video/audio or audio only (or even text
only).
In another embodiment, based on the selection of the transfer to
your device button 205, the instruction window 240 is displayed to
the customer. The instruction window 240 instructs the customer to
place their mobile communication device 101 on the kiosk device
reader (the presence detection module 106). The customer places
their mobile communication device 101 on the kiosk device reader.
The kiosk code reader detects the presence of the mobile
communication device 101 in proximity to the kiosk 102, using NFC
(or another protocol). In response to detecting the presence of the
mobile communication device 101, the communication application 105
is downloaded onto the mobile communication device 101 (if
necessary) and the video communication session is transferred from
the kiosk 102 to the mobile communication device 101.
In another embodiment, the customer can select various options that
are available as part of transferring the communication session.
The customer can select options using the topic menu 202, the
conference local employee check box 230, the provide map check box
231, and the transfer to audio only check box 232. For example, the
customer could select the plumbing topic, the conference local
employee check box 230, and the transfer to audio only check box
232 to transfer the video communication session to an audio
communication session where a local subject expert on plumbing is
conferenced into the audio call. In one embodiment, a single QR
code is displayed that provides all the selected options when
scanned. Alternatively, the customer could select the options and
then be provided the instructions window 240 to transfer the call
with the customer selected options by placing their device on the
kiosk device reader.
In one embodiment, the options are provided via a pop-up window
based on the selection of the transfer to your device button 205.
In another embedment, the options can be presented after the
communication session has been transferred. Other options could be
to transfer a video communication session to an Instant Messaging
communication session, conferencing in the contact center agent's
supervisor, and/or the like.
FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of a process for providing contact center
services. Illustratively, the mobile communication device 101, the
kiosk 102, the display 103, the kiosk module 104, the communication
application 105, the presence detection module 106, the employee
mobile communication device 107, the contact center 120, the
communication manager 121, and the agent terminals 130A-130N are
stored-program-controlled entities, such as a computer or
processor, which performs the method of FIGS. 3-4 and the processes
described herein by executing program instructions stored in a
tangible computer readable storage medium, such as a memory or
disk. Although the methods described in FIGS. 3-4 are shown in a
specific order, one of skill in the art would recognize that the
steps in FIGS. 3-4 may be implemented in different orders and/or be
implemented in a multi-threaded environment. Moreover, various
steps may be omitted or added based on implementation.
The process starts in step 300. The process waits in step 304 for a
request for a communication session. If a request is not received
in step 304, the process repeats step 304. Otherwise, if a request
for a communication session is received in step 304, the process
establishes a communication session between a contact center and a
kiosk based on a kiosk identifier in step 306. In particular, a
communication session may be established between a kiosk and one or
more agent terminals 130A-130N, depending upon whether the
communication session is a two-person session or a conference.
The process determines in step 308 if an indication is received
that the customer/user wants to transfer the communication session
from the kiosk to the mobile communication device. If an indication
has not been received in step 308, the process goes to step 310.
The process determines in step 310 if the communication session is
complete. If the communication session is complete in step 310, the
process ends in step 322. Otherwise, if the communication session
is not complete in step 310, the process goes back to step 308.
If the indication to transfer the communication session from the
kiosk to the mobile communication device is received in step 308,
the process determines in step 312 if a presence of the mobile
communication device has been detected in proximity to the kiosk.
If a presence of the mobile communication device is not detected in
step 312, the process goes to step 314. The process determines in
step 314 if the communication session is complete. If the
communication session is complete in step 314, the process ends in
step 322. Otherwise, if the communication session is not complete
in step 314, the process goes to step 312.
If the process detects the presence of the mobile communication
device in proximity to the kiosk in step 312, the process downloads
the communication application (if necessary) to the mobile
communication device in step 316. The process transfers the
communication session from the kiosk to the mobile communication
device in step 318. The process determines in step 320 if the
communication session is complete. If the communication session is
not complete in step 320, the process repeats step 320. Otherwise,
if the process is complete in step 320, the process ends in step
322.
FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of a process for additional contact center
services. The process of FIG. 4 is an exemplary embodiment that
goes between steps 318 and 320 of FIG. 3. As part starting
transferring the communication session to the mobile communication
device in step 318, the process determines if the customer is a
previous customer of the contact center in step 400. The process
can determine that the customer is a previous customer of the
contact center based on information entered by the customer at the
kiosk, based on an identifier supplied via an Interactive Voice
Response (IVR) system when calling from the kiosk, via a swiped
card, via a swiped credit card number, and/or the like. If the
customer is not a previous customer of the contact center in step
400, the process goes to step 404. Otherwise, if the customer is a
previous customer in step 400 the process can optionally encrypt
the communication session if a digital certificate is available.
For example, the customer may have exchanged a digital certificate
when previously calling into the contact center. The previously
exchanged digital certificate can be used to encrypt the
transferred communication session from the contact center to the
mobile communication device. The process then goes to step 404.
If the customer is a new customer, the communication session can
still be encrypted by generating a new digital certificate. The
newly generated digital certificate can be used to encrypt the
communication session. The digital certificate can then be
associated with the customer for future use.
The process determines in step 404 if a document(s) was downloaded
to the kiosk for viewing by the customer. For example, if the
customer was looking for specifications for a particular type of
appliance, a manual for the appliance can be downloaded to the
kiosk so that the customer can search through the manual. If a
document was not downloaded in step 404, the process goes to step
408. Otherwise, if a document(s) was downloaded to the kiosk in
step 404, the process downloads the document(s) to the mobile
communication device for display to the customer in step 406. The
process then goes to step 408.
The process determines in step 408 if the scanned code is
associated with a product or service. For example, the customer may
have associated the scanned code with a delivery service for an
appliance that the customer was looking to purchase. If the scanned
code is not associated with a product or service in step 408, the
process goes to step 320.
Otherwise, if the code is associated with a product or service in
step 408, the process determines if the code also indicated to
conference in a local employee in step 410. If the code indicated
to conference in a local employee in step 410, the process
conferences in the local employee in step 412. The process may also
provide a map to the location of the local employee. For example,
the map could provide directions from the kiosk to a help desk
where the local employee is located. Alternatively, the process may
provide a map to the desired product. The process then goes to step
320.
In one embodiment, the local employee may be conferenced in even if
the code is not associated with a product or service. For example,
the customer could select the conference local employee check box
230 without selecting the topic menu 202 as described in FIG.
2.
If the code does not indicate to conference in a local employee in
step 410, the process determines whether to provide a map in step
414. If a map is to be provided in step 416, the map is provided to
the customer in step 416 and the process goes to step 320.
Otherwise, if a map was not to be provided in step 414, other
services may be provided to the customer in step 418. For example,
other services can be provided, such as downloading a service
application to the customer's mobile communication device,
providing locations of other stores, providing location of other
stores that carry an out of stock item, and/or the like. The
process then goes to step 320.
Of course, various changes and modifications to the illustrative
embodiment described above will be apparent to those skilled in the
art. These changes and modifications can be made without departing
from the spirit and the scope of the system and method and without
diminishing its attendant advantages. The following claims specify
the scope of the invention. Those skilled in the art will
appreciate that the features described above can be combined in
various ways to form multiple variations of the invention. As a
result, the invention is not limited to the specific embodiments
described above, but only by the following claims and their
equivalents.
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